Mcafee's Benchmark

[Rutter]

I've seen this around quite a lot recently and was wondering if its something you guys have come across or if it is export only? Its cheap here at around £15 a bottle.

[Josh]

I've seen this around quite a lot recently and was wondering if its something you guys have come across or if it is export only? Its cheap here at around £15 a bottle.

[BourbonJoe]

Is it any good??

Joe :usflag:

[jburlowski]

I've seen it but have never tried it... a future BOTM?

[MJL]

I have been playing with bottom shelf bargains for the last few years and have intended to try this out. I cannot recall seeing this in SoFla until recently so this may be why I had not tried this out before.

[harshest]

For less than $10 here, I think it holds it's own with bourbon twice the price.

[cowdery]

It's decent, certainly worth a try. The very low rye content makes whiskey from that mash bill pretty palatable even at a young age.

[BourbonJoe]

The very low rye content makes whiskey from that mash bill pretty palatable even at a young age.

I take it then that the "8" on the neck label does not signify age. Correct?

Joe :usflag:

[cowdery]

I take it then that the "8" on the neck label does not signify age. Correct?

Joe :usflag:

[matthew0715]

I take it then that the "8" on the neck label does not signify age. Correct?

Joe :usflag:

It's possible, even likely, that once upon a time it was 8 years old, but now it's just "old no. 8" much like EW 1783 used to be 10 years old and is now just No. 10 Brand.

[fishnbowljoe]

It's decent, certainly worth a try. The very low rye content makes whiskey from that mash bill pretty palatable even at a young age.

What he said. :grin: This is a decent bourbon, especially considering the price. Nothing fancy that'll knock your socks off or anything, but very drinkable. Buy one or two and enjoy. Joe

[Rutter]

Bought a bottle at the weekend, as above its not a bad drop at a good price. I found it very smooth and mellow, as did the girlfriend who commented it was one of my better whiskies due to it being lower abv!

[Dr. François]

I enjoyed my bottle. For low price-points, this and Evan Williams will get you through most situations.

[boss302]

I've had McAfee's No. 8-- it's a decent pour. I'm curious, however, to find out how it stacks up against Ancient Age (AA, not AAA), which is also a lower-end BT product, for about the same price...

[Dr. François]

I'm curious, however, to find out how it stacks up against Ancient Age (AA, not AAA), which is also a lower-end BT product, for about the same price...

I do not like Ancient Age (standard) at all. I put it up with Jim Beam Rye and Old Crow in the category of "Whiskey I Will Never Buy Again." If it's being served, sure. But no more cash into those clunkers.

I believe I read in another thread that BT went through some significant brand management with Benchmark (label changes, marketing strategy, etc). It's a HUGE seller in Kentucky (if shelf space is any indication). Whenever a product is much loved, you can't change the formula or recipe too much without losing followers. Benchmark still has followers in a land with many bourbon selections. My guess is that it still has some close-to-8-year juice in it to keep the profile consistent.

[cowdery]

Does anyone know which mashbill Benchmark is?

Which also makes me wonder how much resemblance there is between both Benchmark and Eagle Rare now and their Seagram's originals.

[T Comp]

Does anyone know which mashbill Benchmark is?

Which also makes me wonder how much resemblance there is between both Benchmark and Eagle Rare now and their Seagram's originals.

I don't have Seagram's originals but did recently compare early Sazerac bottled Eagle Rare 101-10 year (label says bottled by Old Prentice Company-Frankfort) against a Benchmark Premium Bourbon (label says bottled by Old Benchmark Company-New Orleans-no Mcaffee's or age stated). Diluted the Eagle Rare to the 80 proof of the Benchmark and they sure nosed and tasted awfully close enough to be the same bourbon to me. I don't have current Eagle Rare or Benchmark to compare these with though.

[Josh]

Does anyone know which mashbill Benchmark is?

Which also makes me wonder how much resemblance there is between both Benchmark and Eagle Rare now and their Seagram's originals.

[ggilbertva]

I'll have to go pick up a bottle of the current Benchmark. I have bottles from the 70's and like it very much; a very velvety smooth bourbon.

[cowdery]

Since they were originally products of the Seagram's 10 distilleries-10 recipes system, I doubt they were the same 'recipe' originally. That probably happened when Sazerac bought them. At that time, Saz was getting all of its bourbon from Heaven Hill and Heaven Hill only made one bourbon recipe in those days.

[kickert]

I like the high corn mashbill so much from BT that I bought a handle of BM (double entendre intentional). I was very disappointed. I don't know if it was the plastic container or the juice in it, but it was the worst BT stuff I had ever had. It took a good part of year to finish the handle and even then I had to put it in the freezer and mix it to mask the taste.

[cowdery]

We know that some barrels just don't turn out that well so you always have to ask yourself about these distilleries; what do they do with their worst stuff?

[Dr. François]

We know that some barrels just don't turn out that well so you always have to ask yourself about these distilleries; what do they do with their worst stuff?

????????

[PaulO]

As to the bad plastic handle, I would blame the container. I believe the same for carbonated beverages. They go flat if they sit for a couple months. I have had Benchmark from a glass 750ml bottle and thought it was a decent low price bourbon.

-and to the previous post :slappin: add JB white label too, and Crow

[squire]

The current Benchmark is not what I remember from the early 70s but is a decent entry level Bourbon at a very attractive price.